No problem Nigel, I do this all the time for bypassing and SMD components are really rather good these days. isnt it in parallel to the zener? could you not forget about wires and just solder it directly across the zener leads? should be about the right size for that.
the ibuds have the most crap bass response going around, they are an earbud that does not seal at all. They also lead to hearing damage, because often people will pump up the volume to overcome this apparent lack of bass and loudness, when really they are perfectly loud, but just simply cannot be heard properly. even some Koss KSC75 which are found on ebay rather cheaply (10-15 dollars) , will beat the crap out of the ibuds and respond rather well to good amplification.

indeed!! I was just suggesting a temporary measure with the koss until you could get to a shop and try some cans. people crazier than I spend thousands on source and amps for these 15 dollar headphones. I know of one pair that is recabled with a cable worth more than your AKG

if you are even slightly DIY inclined, you are much better off buying D2000 and modding them including aftermarket woodcups and a new cable. results in a much better headphone IMO. stock D5000 bass is rather loose and the mids recessed. frame and drivers are common between the 2 models, so you end up with a headphone closer to D7000 for about the same money as stock D5000 if you can DIY. I think my denons are fantastic, but even after modding, not what I would call neutral and maybe better for a second pair of headphones if you are looking for a reference set of cans. depends on the music you are wanting to listen to, they are pretty much polar opposites, with only cans like DX1000, DT990, sony R10 having more bass (up to 5 times the budget or more at current used R10 prices)

but yes denons are slotted in right in the sweet spot for this design as far as impedance etc. should sound fantastic and fun

On the other hand if you don't like to mod and have plenty of money you could go straight to the D7000.
Otherwise you might like to mod the D2000 as qusp mentioned. I am not sure you will save a lot of money though, because there are often very good discounted sales on the D5000, and at least you know what you are getting if you demo them, which you won't know upfront if you decide to mod the D2000 until you have spent your time and money modding them.

My advice about this is demo as many headphones as you can in the same shop on the same day with music you actually enjoy listening too. Don't be persuaded by hi quality demo cd's if you don't listen to demo cds.
I went through this process recently, and found that there are big differences between companies.

I found that the AKG's sound fantastic on well recorded music (ie most modern recordings) and ordinary on older recordings. While the Denon 5000 sounded fantastic on older recordings but the bass was a bit too much on some modern recordings.
For me if I could only have one headphone it would be the Denon, mainly because it sounds best with the music I listen to most.

I use to be a Sennheiser fanboy from an experience I had when I was a boy listening to some open cup sennheiser headphones (yellow foam ear pads). I had a chance to buy those at a very cheap price back then (they were something like 70% off). Well I didn't buy them, and I am still regretiing it today. I wish I could remember the model number.
Anyway to get to the point, I can tell you the Sennheiser HD600 which I listened to on that demo day did not appeal to me at all when compared to the AKG and the Denon, which was quite a shock, since I had such a great experience with Sennheiser when I was a boy,

The message here is demo as many as you can before you buy, and don't trust reviews.

Well, as much as modding headphones sounds like fun, as I posted above the heapamp and phones are for use while on sabbatical leave, and I won't be able to do much diy until I come back. Patrick clearly recommends the AKG 701s with the DAO amp; I am planning on getting the AKG K702s, which are apparently the same thing as the 701s with some cosmetic changes, although I'm open to other suggestions. Is there anything in the Grado line that I should be considering for use with this amp? (The AKG702s appear to be around $350 at sale prices... please don't suggest something hugely more expensive - it'll only make me sad I can't afford it...)

The denons are an even better match specs wise.
They are more efficient than AKG, and the impedance is right.
The sound between the two is very different please demo both before you buy. You could of course buy both.